Mike Mansfield with Robert Pantzer (President of The University of Montana from 1966-1974) and Lee Simmons (administrative assistant to President Pantzer) on The University of Montana campus in Missoula (undated)
After his military service, Mike Mansfield returned to Montana, where he worked in the copper mines until he met Maureen Hayes, a college-educated schoolteacher. At Maureen’s insistence, Mansfield returned to school, and earned his high school equivalency and Bachelor’s degree in 1933 from what is now The University of Montana (UM). In 1934 he received his Master’s degree, and he remained at the University for the next eight years teaching Latin American and East Asian history.
Today UM is home to the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center and the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, established to honor their lifetime of achievements and service to the University, Montana, and the U.S. The Mansfield Foundation maintains close ties to the University and provides support to the Mansfield Center. Both the current President of The University of Montana, Royce Engstrom, and former President George Dennison serve on the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Photo credit: 98-2535, Mike Mansfield Collection, K. Ross Toole Archives, Archives & Special Collections, Mansfield Library, The University of Montana.